Christian NHS worker back in court for sharing faith

A Christian NHS worker has lost another court appeal in her legal battle following her sharing her faith at work.

Victoria Wasteney is the former Head of Forensic Occupational Therapy at a London hospital and was suspended in June 2013 for 'gross misconduct' for nine months.

Following that she said she received a written warning following allegations of 'harassment and bullying' by a Muslim staff-member.

Her Muslim colleague had written an eight-page letter of complaint which contained allegations that Wasteney had been attempting to convert her to the Christian faith. It was said that she had asked her to pray and had given her a book about a Muslim woman converting to Christianity.

The colleague also alleged that Wasteney had put her hand on her knee in prayer for 10 minutes, asking God to come to her, and the colleague had reported that she felt as if she was being groomed.

Speaking to the BBC, Wasteney said she was surprised by the allegations, because she thought her and her colleague had become friends over the 18 months they worked together.

Wasteney lost the case when she took the trust to a tribunal - the judgement found the hospital had not acted with prejudice or discriminated against her on religious grounds.

The Judge said that the Employment Appeal Tribunal should consider whether the original ruling had properly applied the European Convention on Human Rights' strong protection of freedom of religion and expression.

After losing the appeal in April 2016, she has decided to challenge the decision today, but lost once again.